Coastal bike trip from Gholvad to Dahanu (Maharashtra Gujarat Border) India

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

After exploring Aswali Dam, we travelled on the Bordi Aswali Road, to reach Bordi. We travelled on the narrow roads, again the road was very picturesque. Banyan trees, Tody trees, on either side of the roads, we even saw chickoo plantations. I knew we were near Gholvad, as the chickoo plantations are there. We noticed a Ganpati painted on the bark of a tree, it looked nice an it was very innovative. 

En route to Gholvad

Finally we reached Bordi. Not sure if it was the Bordi market, or a Saturday market. Shops on either side of the road. Shops selling all kinds of things, ranging from clothes, under garments, fruits and vegetables, toys and many more.  The streets had turned colorful. The roads were filled with people. 

We then visited the Bordi beach stretch located a few minutes away from the market place. 

Rail crossing

The tide was low and hence the water had receded. The school children had taken full advantage of the situation and decided to play cricket at the beach. Have you played cricket at the beach, do let me know. 

It was a black sand beach. In a distance I could see the mangroves, they looked beautiful, but if we walk it out, it wold take us around an hour's time to reach. So we skipped it.

Ganpati painted on a Banyan Tree

We then decided to travel all the way to Dahanu, the road though narrow and winding was in good condition, to ride on and close to the beach. Even at 12 noon, we were not able to feel the heat thanks to the cool breeze from the sea. 

Bordi Beach

We braked a couple of times and watched the silent water in a distance. The tide was low but not a soul on the beach. How will there be anyone, as there is no one staying close by. The beach stretch was clean. 

Hansel and Me

As we approached Dahanu Beach, we saw a couple of fishing boats anchored in the waters. At last civilization, I said to myself. The water was clear here and no sign of dirt on the beach. I was sure that the closer we get to the beach, the dirtier the beach would be. We gave it a skip.

En route to Gholvad

We met up with Gautam, near Narpad. He was a local, who stays in Dahanu and works in Andheri in Mumbai city.  I felt so jealous, as he is having the best of both worlds. though commuting , cost him around 5 hours a day, but he still lives a good life here. 

That's Me

Coastal road to Dahani

I think I should buy a vacation home here, but who has got the time to travel so far. Gautam told us about a couple of good eating joints around Dahanu as hunger had striked our stomachs. Out of all I remember Hotel Mini's near a bridge on a river. 

Dahanu Beach

Hansel and Me with Gautam

En route, we noticed a signboard that read Dahanu Fort. Fort that rang bells in my head, though I have been to Dahanu Fort a long time ago, I still decided to pay it a visit to refresh my memory. Hansel to had a new fort to explore on the bike trip.

Aswali Dam in Aswali near Bordi near the Maharashtra Gujarat Border (India)

Monday, February 13, 2017

Aswali Dam is located near Bordi. It is around 151 KM away from Amboli in Andheri west. 

Aswali Dam

Hansel, who had accompanied me to Shiv Kalin Vihir in Badlapur, joined me on this trip. 

Sunrise on the way to Aswali Dam

We met at Amboli, near my house at 5:20 AM. We immediately headed to our destination, Aswali Dam.

Hansel and Me

As it was early morning, the roads were empty, so Hansel managed to pickup speed. We crossed the Fountain junction without any traffic, which was good.

Can you spot the aeroplane in the sky

We rode on the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway, as the bike gained momentum, it started growing colder. We were wearing warm clothes, but our hands were numb due to the cold. Hansel added that due to the near water bodies and trees, the temperature will always be lower than elsewhere. He was right.

Every time we braked to stretch, it grew cooler.

Tody trees on the way to Aswali Dam

The directions to Aswali Dam are tagged on google maps, follow the map and you will not get lost. We did the same. 

We exited the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway at Talasari, and traveled by a narrow village road to Aswali Dam The roads are in good condition. The journey was picturesque. We passed by Toddy trees, Banyan Trees and water bodies. Life here was so laid back. Everyone has relaxing. How I miss this kind of life in the city.
Toddy wine, created from the Sap of the toddy tree is a alcoholic beverage. We saw sap being collected from the Toddy trees while travelling to Aswali Dam. Some one is going to have a party tonight. 

Sap from the Tody tree

We travelled in and out of Maharashtra into Gujarat a couple of times to reach our destination. How we know, there were police check post. 

Finally around 9 AM, we reached the school, located very close to the Aswali Dam. I quickly asked one of the school teacher for directions to the dam. He immediately showed me the rocky trail that leads to the dam. I inquired about the whereabouts of Bahrot Caves located nearby. He told me that those caves exist, though he has never been up them. He told me that it would take us around 2 to 3 hours to reach the caves from the dam. The dam, we would reach in 30 minutes. He also advised us to take a local with us , if we planned to visit it. As the trek is through a jungle and there is a possibility of us getting lost as the directions are not marked.
Hansel and I decided to skip the caves for the time being, visit the dam and do the caves later. 

The school near Aswali Dam

We walked on the rocky road that leads to the dam. As the road was not motor able, we parked the bike under the shade of a tree and walked it out.

En route, Hansel, heard a couple of ducks, we immediately located them, took a couple of photos and then headed back to the dam.
Finally we reached the dam premises. The view of the dam was just beautiful. The green waters was surrounded by hills covered with thick forests on three sides. It reminded me of my trip to Pelhar Dam near Vasai. Equally beautiful. 

Ducks on the way to the Aswali Dam

There is only one control mechanism for the entire dam. Access to it is denied. We walked on the small muddy path. There were school kids here, I guess they had bunked school to spend sometime at the dam. 

View from Aswali Dam

There was a tiny hole in the dam wall, from where the water was oozing out. like a mini waterfall post the rains. 

Aswali Dam

We parked ourselves in the shade of the trees and had some mouth watering sandwiches prepared by Hansel's wife. 

That's me

Miniature waterfall

I noticed something very unusual here, I noticed a cow, swim or should I say walk in the water with its head held high so that it can breathe. It walked for around 20 minutes in the water to reach land.
Watching the calm waters, greenery around us, was so soothing to my eyes. I wouldn't mind suspending a hammock between two trees and sipping on some ice cold beer. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Now that we have visited Aswali Dam, what do we do next, is the question I had in my mind. I started to research on google. But due to the poor internet connectivity we were not getting any signals. We decided to go back to the village located near the school to try our luck there. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Near the school we got better connectivity, as compared to the dam, we then decided to do the coastal road-trip starting at Bordi beach and terminating at Dahanu Beach.

Ballalgad fort in village Kajali near Talasari near the Maharashtra Gujarat border (India)

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Ballalgad is a small hill fort located in village Kajali near Talasari near the Maharashtra Gujarat border. The village of Kajali is located very close to the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway.

View from Ballalgad Fort

Fathima and I had visited Valsad, last week to explore the forts of Parnera, Kille Pardi and Bagwada aka Arjungad Fort. Due to shortage of time, we couldn't explore Indragad and Dhinsu For located near Vapi. 

Raj wanted to do bike trip. We decided to explore these forts in the bike trip. As it was a one day trip, we decided to explore Ballargad near Talasari, Indragad near Moti Daman and Dhinsu Fort near Phanse village, again near Moti Daman in a day's time.

Watch out for this signboard on the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway

I had asked Martina, another friend of mine, if she would be interested in joining us, to which she readily agreed. So on Saturday morning we set out. Raj and me on his Royal Enfield, Martina and Horatious on their Yamaha Fz.

This is my second bike trip on a Royal Enfield, the first one was with Massey to Indurigad near Pune. To read about Indurigad click on it. We had a great time on that trip. 'This trip should be nothing less, I said to myself.

That's us at GHORAKH CHINCHA’ (African Baobab) near Ballalgad Fort

We all met at 6:15 AM in the morning at Borivali at Anupam Superstore, from there we headed over via the Dahisar flyover to the Western Express highway. We got stuck in traffic at Hotel Fountain. But the traffic was just for 15 minutes,after crossing Hotel Fountain, we were on the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway. The roads were clear so we managed to accelerate on the highway. As it was early in the morning, it  was cold but that didn't stop us from accelerating on the highway. We were hoping the sun to come out and shine, to make us warm. 

That's us atop Ballalgad Fort premises

We braked at Simla Inn around 8 AM, near the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway, to have some snacks and hot tea. But the weather was so cold, that our teeth were chattering. We had snacks followed by hot tea, took a couple of selfies and then headed on the road to Ballargad near Kajali, the first fort on our itinerary. 

After crossing Talasari, watch out for a signboard stating Kajali on the left hand side of the highway. After traveling for around 5 minutes on the bike we reached a small school. The trek to the top of Ballargad starts from near the school, but on the opposite side of the road.  ‘GHORAKH CHINCHA’ (African Baobab) trees near the school premises. They would be the perfect prop for a haunted tree. Lol. 

Fortification of Ballalgad Fort

There are a couple of houses near the school premises. We asked for directions and started on our trek. Walked a little and reached a dead end.

I immediately walked to the school and asked if the boys could accompany us to the top, to which they readily agreed. It was a smart move to take the boys along, else we would have been lost on the hills.

Fortification of Ballalgad Fort

It took us around 25 minutes to reach the top. It is a easy trek.  Again there is no proper route to go up, so make your way uphill.
We finally reached the fort walls, though portions of it are broken. The fort is very small in size and can be seen in 15 minutes. The fort is in complete ruins. There is wild growth within the fort premises. It has a small water body within its premises. It is currently filled with huge stones. The boys informed us that during Navratri, water appears at one corner of the water body and disappears post Dassera.

Looking at the size of the fort, I guess it might have been a watch tower to guard over the land. As it offers a fantastic view of the land below. 

Spot to sharpen swords on the rocks atop Ballalgad Fort

We could see the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway from here. The sound of the trucks was audible even at this height. 

We walked on the other side of the fort walls, the boys should us a two stones, as per them one has bullet marks on it and the other was used to sharpen the swords. The boys also told us that a couple of the stones are worshiped by the locals. Not sure how much of it is true, or if it is just a tale told by the village children. 

Bullet marks on the rocks atop Ballalgad Fort

Stones used for worship atop Ballalgad Fort

I am not aware of the history of this fort. 

After exploring we headed back to the school, where our bikes were parked. It took us 20 minutes to reach base (school). 

The school at Kajali Village

There are no hotels here, so one has to carry food and water.
Also not sure if there is any public mode of transport to reach their village. The closest rail station is Talasari and Bhilad. 

The motobikes

We then headed off to see Indragad near Pali Karambeli the next on our itinerary.

Hatgadh Fort in Maharashtra near Saputara Hill Station in Gujarat

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Hatgadh Fort is located on the Saputara Nasik Road. It is located very near to the hill station of Saputara in Gujarat near the Maharashtra Gujarat border.

Hatgadh Fort in Maharashtra near Saputara Hill Station in Gujarat

 We were able to see the fort in a distance, high on the hill top while traveling on the Saputara Nasik Road. One needs to get off the Saputara Nasik Road, There are no boards put up here, and the route is not tagged on google maps, so one has to rely on the locals for directions, there is a entry fee to visit the fort. both for humans and vehicles.

The entry fee was Rs.40 inclusive of all. The guy will also give you a challan (receipt) for the same. The road from here till the top, is a single lane rocky patch, maybe in a couple of months it will be replaced with a tar road. The rocky patch is complemented by the hill on one side and the valley on the other, the zig zag road stops at the main entrance of the fort. This road will test your vehicle suspension.

The fort fortification is not intact but much better than some forts I have visited, It has a small Darwaza to reach the top. There are a couple of caves near the fort entrance. A couple of carvings on the fort walls can also be seen here.

I noticed that certain portions of the fort are being restored. It is a good thing, that someone is working on the restoration of the fort, else in the coming years it might just vanish from the face of the earth.

Hatgadh Fort in Maharashtra near Saputara Hill Station in Gujarat

There are a couple of houses made of stone atop the fort premises, a couple of water tanks, which still had water stored  in them and a tomb. The view from some of the bastion, though they are not intact is breath taking.

The fort offers a breath taking view of  the surrounding, the Saputara hill station in a distance.

Was unable to find the history of this fort on the internet. If you know the history then do share it with me.

It took us around 30 minutes to explore the fort in entirety, we then headed back to the car  to head back to Mumbai.